Not applicable.
This invention relates to firefighters""turnout suits, more particularly, to turnout pants into which may be added a self-adjusting climber""s harness.
Firefighters may become entrapped in the upper floors of a multistory building with no internal means of escape. Many tragically have become severely burned, or even killed, as a result. On such occasions, it is known to use a rope and an emergency climbing harness to rappel down to the ground, or at least to a lower floor which is not burning or is otherwise safe. However, such equipment is bulky and therefore not always brought by the firefighter into the building. Even when it is available, in an emergency situation it can be difficult and time consuming to put on, because the firefighter may be running low on oxygen, and smoke and the lack of electric light may be obscuring his or her vision.
Prior developments in this field may be generally illustrated by reference to the following information disclosure statement:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,036,548 and 5,136,724 teach forms of combined firefighters"" turnout out pants and safety harness.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,643 teaches a firefighters""safety coat with detachable harness.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,153 teaches a safety suit with built-in harness.
There continues to be a need for a new and improved extrication harness apparatus which addresses the problems of construction, effectiveness and ease of use that are attendant in the prior art. In this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
In view of the disadvantages inherent in the known art, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to teach a new and improved extrication harness apparatus which has all of the important advantages of the prior art and few, if any, of the disadvantages.
Firefighters wear a special turnout suit, the turnout pants of which comprise a fireproof outer shell and a separate thermal-barrier liner. The present invention is a harness strap assembly (hereinafter also referred to as the xe2x80x9charness strapxe2x80x9d), similar in function to a climbing harness, that may be suspended from the liner of the pants of a turnout suit. The suit liner, which in the prior art typically has no belt-loops, is modified by the addition of a suspender assembly that supports the harness strap assembly. The suspender assembly may incorporate snaps, suspender-type alligator clips, or hook and loop fastener patches for attachment to the waist area of the suit liner without requiring any structural, invasive or other permanent modification of said thermal-barrier liner. The suspender assembly, or xe2x80x9csuspender,xe2x80x9d provides belt-loops through which the harness strap may be threaded. In this way, the harness strap may be suspended from the liner without violating the integrity of the thermal barrier incorporated therein.
It is to be noted in this regard that the suspender belt-loops do not ever bear the weight of the firefighter, but merely are for positioning the harness around the waist, thighs and crotch of the user during normal wearing of the turnout suitxe2x80x94prior to the need for emergency use.
The suspender assembly comprises a matched pair of front waist belt-loop straps and a rear yoke. Each front waist belt-loop strap bears or forms a loop for the harness strap assembly. The rear yoke forms a pair of upper waist belt-loops and a pair of lower buttock/crotch area belt-loops, again for positioning, holding and supporting the harness strap. The suspender assembly contains non-invasive means for attaching itself to the liner of a turnout suit. xe2x80x9cNon-invasivexe2x80x9d means, in this context, attaching means which does not itself puncture or otherwise violate the integrity of the thermal-barrier liner. Preferably, this means is non-invasive by using mating means already found on the liner, such as snaps or hook and loop fastener material.
The harness strap assembly comprises a pair of harness strap members that are affixed to the rear of a waist belt and are wound forward around the user""s waist through the four suspended waist belt-loops; thence down through the crotch and back around under the user""s buttocks; then through the suspended crotch belt-loops; and finally back forward to the fly area of the liner where they terminate in two looped ends. Adjacent to the fly, on their way first down through the crotch, the crotch portions of the harness strap pass through a pair of carabiner-holding rings, which rings are not stitched or otherwise affixed to the liner. Instead, the two looped ends of the harness strap hold the two rings. The carabiner-holding rings, in turn, may be interlinked with a metal carabiner of conventional design. Preferably, the carabiner will be suspended from a carabiner strap that passes from one ring to the other.
The waist belt is supplied chiefly to keep the apparatus comfortably in place during normal wear. The belt may perform the secondary function of keeping the turnout pants up without the need for suspenders.
There preferably is a pair of load-bearing safety-grade adjustment buckles on the rear of the waist belt (to which buckles the harness strap members are attached) or there is other means provided for adjusting the overall length of the harness strap assembly relative to the girth of the wearer. This typically only needs to be done once, during the very first fitting thereof. It never has to be done during an emergency, or even during normal firefighting operations. The waist belt thus further serves as the point of attachment for said pair of adjustment buckles, which hold the free ends of the two harness strap members.
To escape out of a window in a burning building, one need only secure a climbing rope to a suitable fixed structure. Next, the rope is wound through the carabiner (or carabiners) in the normal fashion. The firefighter immediately may rappel down to safety.
There is no need to put the harness on during the time of the emergency, because one automatically encases one""s waist and legs in the harness when the turnout pants are put on.
Importantly, as noted above, there is also no need to adjust or tighten the harness during the emergencyxe2x80x94when the firefighter may have only precious moments to exit the building. The use of a free-moving harness strap assembly threaded loosely through strategically placed loops suspended from the pant liner allows the harness to be self-adjusting. Unlike known emergency harnesses, the present harness apparatus automatically tightens up upon receiving the user""s weight, without binding.
The harness adds little weight to the turnout pants, and, during normal wear, the crotch portions of the harness strap hang loose, so as not to be confining or uncomfortable. Therefore, there is great incentive, and little disincentive, for a firefighter to adopt the modified turnout pants of this invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved extrication harness apparatus which has all, or nearly all, of the advantages of the prior art, while simultaneously overcoming most of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved extrication harness apparatus which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved extrication harness apparatus which is of a rugged, durable and reliable construction and which meets or exceeds known safety standards and codes.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved extrication harness apparatus which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to firefighters and fire departments, thereby making such a extrication harness apparatus economically available to the buying public.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide extrication harness apparatus wherein the same permits an increased ease of assembly and installation relative to the art.
Another feature is a new and improved extrication harness apparatus that is lightweight, easy to use, unobstructive, unobtrusive in appearance and suitable for mass production.
Other novel features which are characteristic of the invention, as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawing is for illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this disclosure. The invention resides not in any one of these features taken alone, but rather in the particular combination of all of its structures for the functions specified.
There has thus been broadly outlined the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form additional subject matter of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based readily may be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the Abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is neither intended to define the invention of this application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
Certain terminology and derivations thereof may be used in the following description for convenience in reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, words such as xe2x80x9cupward,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cdownward,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cleft,xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9crightxe2x80x9d would refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made unless otherwise stated. Similarly, words such as xe2x80x9cinwardxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9coutwardxe2x80x9d would refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof. References in the singular tense include the plural, and vice versa, unless otherwise noted.